Since Egyptian president Muhammad Mursi's removal from power, the Egyptian public and media – both pro- and anti-Mursi – have been fiercely attacking the U.S.[1] This trend is part of continually escalating anti-U.S. and, more specifically, anti-President Obama attacks on the part of supporters of Egyptian Defense Minister Al-Sisi, who deposed Mursi. Apparently, the reasons for this include: President Obama's condemnation of the violent August 14 dispersal of the Mursi supporters' weeks-long sit-ins at Raba'a Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda Square; the U.S.'s July 24 cancellation of its delivery to Egypt of four F-16 aircraft; the U.S.'s August 15 cancellation of the joint U.S.-Egypt military exercise, scheduled for this month; and discussions in the U.S. about the possibility that it would halt its aid to Egypt – measures that were perceived both by the pro-Al-Sisi camp and by opponents of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as expressions of American support for the MB.
Al-Sisi's anti-U.S. onslaught has taken the form of declarations by senior Egyptian government officials, articles in newspapers identified with the regime and the army, and political and popular campaigns in social media and on the street. One prominent example of this was Al-Sisi's direct appeal to the American administration in his August 3 interview with The Washington Post, where he stated: 'You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won't forget that…'[2] Another example is Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawi's reminder, in an interview with the ABC network, that Egypt had received military aid from Russia for decades,[3]and his insistence that the Egyptian army would survive the cessation of American aid to Egypt, and that, if this caused any damage, the damage would last for a limited time only.[4]
The Egyptian pro-regime and -army press published articles notable in their vilification of President Obama himself – insulting his mother, calling him mentally deficient and his administration "the Adolf Obama Reich," and even going so far as to offer a prayer that he would die in agony. Many articles contended that Obama and his administration supported terror by virtue of their support for the MB; columnists also opposed U.S. intervention in Egypt's internal affairs, and, in response to American threats to cut off aid, argued that Egypt was better off without it.
At the same time, political and popular campaigns against continued U.S. aid to Egypt were launched, with the leading campaign organized by the Tamarrud and April 6 movements; these movements had played a major role in the protests that led to Mursi's ouster. Another campaign called for the regime to reject American aid so as to maintain Egypt's independence and to protect it from foreign interference.
Furthermore, many articles dealt with the decline of American influence in the Middle East, particularly in Egypt, in Russia's favor; they called for inviting President Vladimir Putin to Cairo, with a lavish reception held in his honor. Billboards with Putin's photo, captioned "Bye-bye America" were even put up at a pro-Al-Sisi demonstration in Alexandria.
This report will review some of the many articles in the pro-Egyptian regime and pro-Egyptian army press condemning the U.S., and will also review the campaigns against U.S. aid to Egypt.
Anti-American Articles In The Pro-Regime And Pro-Army Egyptian Press
Obama Supports The MB In Egypt, Which Is The Source Of Global Terror
Many articles accused Obama of allying with the MB, which they claim is a radical terror movement.
Obama, Friend Of The MB – Which Is The Source Of All Terror Organizations In The World
In an article titled "The MB and Obama's Filthy Alliance [With It] Against the Egyptian People," Egyptian writer 'Abd Al-Fatah 'Abd Al-Mun'im wrote: "Does the American administration and its president, Mr. Obama, an enemy of the Egyptian people and a friend of the MB, know that the Al-Qaeda organization and all the terrorist organizations that kill and slaughter American soldiers in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and everyplace else in the world, [trace their] origins, roots and first affiliation to the MB movement… [?] Without the radicalism of the MB's ideology, these terror organizations, by which the American people have been burned, would never have emerged.
"Nevertheless, Obama sees no problem in defending the Egyptian MB, claiming that the elections that brought the failed and ousted president Muhammad Mursi to power were legitimate… The MB staged a political takeover in Egypt with the assistance of America, which believed that if it encouraged the MB [in its attaining power], Israel's safeguarding would be assured.
"Due to the Americans' absolute support for the Muhammad Mursi regime, he and his movement committed many sins against the Egyptian people, starting with Mursi's attempt to subject the country to MB control... to his selling Egypt to [foreign interests[5]] and ending with more crimes, no condemnation of which have we ever heard from Obama and his allies like Turkey, France and England…"[6]
Obama: "I don't belong to the MB, but I support the MB." Ahram-canada.com, July 6, 2013
Obama Offers Up Egypt As A Sacrifice To The MB God Of Terrorism
Egyptian journalist Wael Al-Samari went so far as to claim that Obama is treating the MB like a deity to whom he must offer sacrifices – and his sacrificial victims are the Egyptians and their homeland. He wrote in his column in the Al-Yawm Al-Sabi' daily: "The events of September 11 made the Americans, and first and foremost Obama, imagine a god of global terror [the MB] whose desire they must satisfy and whose blessing they must obtain with aid, funds, counsel, and global political backing. It must do so in order to avoid a repeat of September 11, which changed the global balance of power.
"Thus, the most advanced country in the world became the most primitive; in fact, there is [only] one difference between what primitive man once did and what Obama is now doing: Primitive man offered up sacrifices from his [own] harvest or the efforts of his own hunt – while Obama is offering us, our country, and our history to terrorists, on a silver platter…
"[Thus], instead of confronting and challenging the terror idols, [Obama] looks like a caveman shivering [in fear] in the face of wild animals and the forces of nature. This confirms that the U.S. has no culture or civilization, and that its technological and scientific veneer melts away as soon as it faces a genuine threat…"[7]
Standing on "Middle East" soil, U.S. feeds victims to the crocodile of "terror." Al-Ahram Al-Arabi (Egypt), August 13, 2013
Vilification Of Obama
Some of the articles were notable for their particularly blunt and harsh anti-Obama sentiment, to the point of calling him "Adolf Obama," expressing wishes for his death, and cursing him and his family.
"Ayatollah Obama," "Adolf Obama" Is Partner To The Muslim Brotherhood's Caliphate Dream
An article in the Al-Wafd party organ titled "Ayatollah Obama," by media personality and Egyptian television presenter Kamal 'Abd Al-Fattah," stated: "The Muslim Brotherhood groups may well take pride in the position of White House sheikh Ayatollah Ruhollah Hussein Obama, who for the past year has shared with them the dream of implementing the Islamic shari'a in Egypt, one of the states of the great American Islamic Caliphate. In order to establish [the Islamic Caliphate in Egypt] in the 21st century, [three leaders] cooperated, [forming] the triangle comprising purity, fear of God, and rectitude...
"[These three are:] the wretched MB member who obeys the [MB General] Guide before he obeys Allah [i.e. deposed Egyptian president Muhammad Mursi]; a Qatari youth [i.e. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani] whose beard hasn't yet grown and who has begun inscribing his autobiography in lipstick [a hint that he may be homosexual]; and the Turkish bull [i.e. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan] who is a throwback to the days of the [Ottoman] Sultanate...
"With regard to the conductor of this orchestra, Ayatollah Hussein Obama, he was defrauded by a woman of wily temperament named Ann Patterson [the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt], when she sketched out in his mind [the scenario] that the miserable MB would wrap Egypt in the cellophane of friendship and alliance and present it as a gift to the [leader of the] American Reich, Adolf Obama, in exchange for making [MB General Guide] Badi' or [his deputy Khairat] Al-Shater the next ruler of Egypt in the American Islamic Caliphate state...
"Now, good residents of Egypt, the dream of the Caliphate has evaporated; the troika of political prostitution has collapsed," and the American ayatollah [Obama], who planned to declare Egypt an Islamic emirate in the framework of the American Islamic Caliphate state, has fallen...
"Mr. Obama, it doesn't matter that you have lost your principles; the worst thing is that you have removed from America its covering of honor and principles of freedom, leaving it naked in the world..."[8]
'Al-Masri Al-Yawm' Article: "Allah, Take Obama And Roast His Corpse"
The Egyptian Al-Masri Al-Yawm daily published a particularly vicious anti-Obama column by Ghada Sharif, in which she wrote: "Allah, take Obama and roast his corpse, turn him right and left on the coals of Hell in savory barbecue sauce; there's no need for a cold drink or French fries...
"We [are looking at] the man who is the epitome of idiocy and who weirdly insists on sticking his mother's nose into our affairs, after he cancelled the shipment of F-16s in a hysterical reaction to the request by [Egyptian Defense Minister] Al-Sisi [that the Egyptian people] empower him [to combat terror – a reference to Al-Sisi's July 24, 2013 speech] ... He hasn't the tiniest shred of intelligence to make him correct his path and shut up...
"Apparently, Obama suffers from emotional problems... His mother was a troublemaker when she met his father, and instead of treating her like a lady, he prostituted her and lived off of her... Some say that [Obama] is [indeed] her son, and others say that she found him in the doorstep of a hashish den...
"The man is insane, and is unable to control his reactions..."[9]
The U.S. Is Losing Its Middle East Influence To Russia
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Some of the articles stressed that the U.S.'s strength in the Middle East was fading and on the brink of collapse, and that Egypt, no longer subject to it, must now draw closer to Russia.
Egypt Will Stop Being Subject To The U.S., As Russia And China Enter The Ring
An article in Al-Ahram, titled "Egypt and the Erosion of America's Influence," by Dr. Yusri 'Abdallah, a lecturer in literature at Helwan University, stated: "The entire American position [regarding the removal of Mursi and the June 30, 2013 revolution] constitutes a blatant affront to Egyptian sentiment... A new reality is created now in Cairo, [as reflected by Egypt's] ability to confront and subdue the forces of darkness, and to preserve the idea of national independence as one of the main goals of the June revolution...
"Egypt will no longer be subject to the American axis, whose influence is fading, because of the immoral [position] of its administration towards the current situation in Egypt... and particularly in light of Russia's new activity in the capitals of national liberation. This is like... that moment in the 1950s [i.e. the USSR's Cold War-era alliance with Egypt under president Gamal 'Abd Al-Nasser], that was the purest moment in the history of the world, and primarily in the history of the repressed peoples, who took their destiny in their own hands after bitter struggles with the forces of hegemony and imperialism...
"It may be that in the upcoming period, the situation in which some countries live like satellites of America in the region will continue, [while] other countries, headed by Egypt, will try, and rightly so, to take ownership of their own national decision[-making]. Since the desire of the free peoples always wins out, there is no doubt that the countries that are advancing towards their independent future will succeed in their efforts, whatever the cost.
"It may be that, as a result of this, the expected and longed-for erosion of the American influence in the region will begin, particularly in light of the fact that the main role that the U.S. is playing in the world is under threat, following Russia's powerful entrance into the arena of events – in addition to China, which is always looking to pursue its economic interests, which it might very well find in Cairo in the near future..."[10]
Billboard in Alexandria: Putin, Al-Sisi, Nasser, "Bye-bye, America." Shofeemafee.com, July 27, 2013
The American Demon Is Withering Away; Putin Will Be Given A Huge Reception When He Arrives In Cairo
In its August 17, 2013 editorial, titled "Putin, The New Khrushchev[11] – Welcome," the Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yousuf wrote: "The internationalization of the Egyptian crisis... – about which we warned [in an August 10, 2013 article] titled "Egypt Is Equal [To The U.S.] – It Is Not A Slave,' – is beginning to take an exceptional turn, and we must deal with this quickly, professionally, and creatively...
"The only solution that we can suggest as a beginning is that the Egyptian leadership invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Cairo, as [part of] the return to the Cold War atmosphere that again prevails in the entire region.
"It is sufficient that this shrewd man [Putin] has already stressed several times that he [is willing] to place all Russia's military capabilities at the disposal of the Egyptian leadership! [12]
"We call on Putin to respond immediately to Egypt's invitation, and he is assured a huge popular reception, like Khrushchev, the Russian leader and 'Nasser's ally'...
"The Egyptians must diversify their sources of armament, and their ties [to various countries], particularly when the American demon is clearly withering away, and its collapse is nigh."[13]
Against the backdrop of the report that Putin will soon visit Cairo:[14] Calls for millions to form a human Egyptian flag in honor of Putin's arrival. Ahram-canada.com, August 12, 2013
Calls In Egypt To Reject U.S. Aid
At the same time, other articles called on the Egyptian regime to oppose U.S. aid, which, they said, had transformed Egypt into a lackey of the U.S. They argued Egypt is capable of taking care of itself and that it can get by without American aid.
Egypt Should End The Shame Of American And European Aid
Ahmad Al-Sayyed Al-Naggar wrote in the daily Al-Ahram: "The great Egypt cannot continue to accept regular American and European aid from countries that always stand against the Arab rights, and that have in effect stood by Israel in all its wars against Egypt.
"This is meager and toxic aid, and the U.S. used it to try to make Egypt its lackey, and European countries used it to extort [Egypt while] harming its value and stature... No other independent and leading country in the region receives regular annual aid from a country that routinely stands by its enemies, as Egypt does...
"Egypt should end the shame of the toxic American and European aid, and declare once and for all that it does not need it. It should focus on financial and economic cooperation with sister Arab countries and with friends with which it has already cooperated unconditionally – Russia, China, India, and others – since political, economic, and national independence are more valuable than any aid...
"Egypt... can gain development, justice, and might, by relying on itself, its abilities, and its mighty people."[15]
Reducing Trade Relations With The U.S. Will Not Harm Egypt
Sharif Ahmad Shafiq also wrote in Al-Ahram: "President Obama, why shouldn't Egypt, [like the U.S.] also consider its national interests? After all, it is the best able to solve its own crises. I say to the U.S. president: Your threats that [U.S.-]Egypt trade relations will never be the same... will not impact Egypt's economic ability, because there is a strong infrastructure comprising the government, the military, and the police, who are working together for the good of the country. This in addition to Arab countries... that stand with their big sister Egypt..."[16]
Cover of October magazine: "Cutting off the head of the Uncle Sam snake." October, Egypt, August 25, 2013
Facebook Campaigns Against U.S. And U.S. Aid
The Egyptian regime supporters' attack on the U.S. and the calls to boycott its aid to Egypt were expressed also on Facebook pages identified with MB opponents. The Facebook page of the Tamarrud movement, which played a central role in the protest that led to the removal of Mursi, attacked what it said was American interference in Egypt's affairs, and on August 17, it changed its profile picture to the following image:
"Tamarrud: No To Foreign Intervention." Facebook.com/Tmrood, August 17, 2013
Tamarrud also criticized U.S. threats to cease aid to Egypt. Following President Obama's cancellation of the joint U.S.-Egypt military maneuver, and of the delivery of four F-16 aircraft, Tamarrud founder Mahmoud Badr attacked him, saying: "Don't preach to us on how to deal with MB terrorism... Why don't you and your meager aid go to hell?"
Badr also announced that the Tamarrud movement had begun collecting signatures on a petition demanding that Egypt reject U.S. aid.[17] Subsequently, Tamarrud's Facebook page directly attacked Obama and U.S. aid, posting the following image on August 20:
"To hell with American aid. We are a people that submits to none but Allah." Facebook.com/Tmrood, August 20, 2013
Earlier, on July 29, 2013, the Tamarrud Facebook page featured the following picture, after the cancellation of the F-16 delivery:
Facebook.com/Tmrood, July 29, 2013
Along with the Tamarrud movement, the April 6 movement launched an anti-U.S. aid campaign called "Qadiroun – We Can." This campaign too attacked Obama directly:
The Qadiroun campaign's profile picture. Facebook.com/7amlet9adron, retrieved August 20, 2013
The campaign argued that this was not the first time nor would it be the last time that the U.S. would hint that it would halt the aid, and that it always uses this card to pressure Egypt. The campaign also posted a photo from an August 22 march against foreign embassies in Cairo, including the U.S. Embassy, organized by April 6 youth to protest against foreign interference in Egypt's affairs and demanding national independence:
"Qadiroun campaign – mind your own business." Facebook.com/7amlet9adron, retrieved August 20, 2013
Another post on the Qadiroun campaign's Facebook page read: "We oppose humiliation in the name of aid; we oppose the patronizing of Egypt in the name of aid; we oppose terrorism in the name of aid. Therefore, we oppose [American] aid. Egypt has had its say. The [U.S.] aid interests us not at all."
Egyptians sign the Qadiroun campaign's petition. Facebook.com/7amlet9adron, retrieved August 28, 2013
Yet another anti-U.S. aid campaign, "Against American Aid," on Facebook, with over 20,200 "likes," is also collecting signatures on a petition calling on Egypt to refuse U.S. aid, so that "Egypt will be independent in its decisions," "Egypt will not drink American poison," "America will take its hands off our national military," and "America will not rule our country."[18] On August 27, 2013, the campaign organizers announced that they had collected 500,000 signatures so far.[19]
"Against American Aid" petition. Image: Facebook.com/againstamericanaid, retrieved July 10, 2013
*L. Lavi and N. Shamni are research fellows at MEMRI.
Endnotes:
[1] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 993, In Egyptian Crisis, Both Sides Accuse U.S. July 8, 2013.
[2] Washingtonpost.com, August 3, 2013.
[3] Abcnews.go.com, August 20, 2013.
[4] Al-Wafd, (Egypt), August 21, 2013.
[5] The reference is to reports in the Egyptian media during Mursi's rule alleging that the MB regime sold national assets to Qatar and China, such as the Egyptian state television building and leased the Suez Canal.
[6] Al-Yawm Al-Sabi' (Egypt), August 18, 2013.
[7] Al-Yawm Al-Sabi' (Egypt), August 19, 2013.
[8] Al-Wafd (Egypt), August 24, 2013.
[9] Al-Masri Al-Yawm (Egypt), August 13, 2013.
[10] Al-Ahram (Egypt), August 20, 2013
[11] Nikita S. Khrushchev was the leader of the Soviet Union and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in years 1955-1964.
[12] According to the independent newspaper The Diplomat, following the U.S. decision to cancel the joint military maneuvers, the Al-Masri Al-Yawm English-language website, Egypt Independent, reported that Putin had ordered that all the Russian army's capabilities be placed at the disposal of the Egyptian army, and that joint Russian-Egyptian military exercises be held. According to The Diplomat, the report in Egypt Independent was based on several unnamed sources, but was removed from the website several hours later but not before it was picked up and published by various websites. The Diplomat called the Egypt Independent credible and respectable, but noted that it had a history of submitting to pressure from the Egyptian army, and that it might have removed the item under that pressure. The-diplomat.com, August 16, 2013.
[13] Roz Al-Yousuf (Egypt), August 17, 2013.
[14] In late July 2013, there were unofficial reports that Putin would be visiting Egypt in early August, but Egyptian regime sources denied them. Al-Misriyyoun (Egypt), July 31, 2013; El-balad.com, August 1, 2013.
[15] Al-Ahram (Egypt), August 27, 2013.
[16] Al-Ahram (Egypt), August 25, 2013.
[17] Al-Watan (Egypt), August 18, 2013.
[18] Facebook.com/againstamericanaid, accessed September 10, 2013.
[19] Al-Quds Al-Arabi (London), August 27, 2013.
